Rubber protector for binders



Sept. 4, 1956 R. E. MCILRATH RUBBER PROTECTOR FOR BINDERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 8, 1953 Sept- 4, 1955 R. E. MOILRATH RUBBER PROTECTOR FOR BINDERS 2 Sheets-Shee Filed April 8, 1953 'Il IIIIIIIII I?? veia/07 22705 ZT c/fa 51g/ Par/ier@ Caffe? United States Patent RUBBER PROTECTOR FOR BINDERS Roy E. Mcllrath, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 8, 1953, Serial No. 347,427

3 Claims. (Cl. 129-1) This invention relates to a new and improved means to be applied to the hinged end of any book, binder, ledger or the like, to protect oce furniture, such as desk tops with which the binder or ledger will come in contact. Heretofore, very valuable items of furniture have been seriously marred due to scars and scratches indicted on them by the rough edges of ledgers and account books. This abuse will greatly shorten the overall life of the furniture as numerous renishings are required.

A primary object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive means for protecting such furniture, this means being in the form of a band that can be positioned around the hinged end of any ledger or account book so as to provide a buier between the sharp edges of the account book and the furniture.

Another object of this invention is to make this band of resilient material so that the band will accommodate itself to a Variety of ledgers differing slightly in size.

Another object'of the invention is the provision of irregularly spaced holes around the circumference of the elastic band, these holes being intermediate the edges of the elastic band so that it may be used with ledgers that possess protruding posts as part of theirl locking means. l

Another object of my invention is an envelope-type band which is adapted to encircle and confine each of the binding strips on an account book and with the envelopes being separately insertable and removable.

Another object of my invention is an envelope of the above type which has perforations therein to accommodate it to ledgers or account books that have protruding posts as a part of their locking means.

Another object of my invention is a resilient or rubberlike cap which can be inserted through perforations in a protective envelope of the above type, so as to cover the protruding posts, or an envelope of the above type with raised projections formed integrally therein to cover the posts.

Other objects will appear from time to time, or be obvious in the accompanying specifications and drawings to follow, in which:

Figure l is a plan View of a conventional ledger or account book with the elastic band of this invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of this ledger, partly in section, taken along line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the ledger in section, taken along the line 3 3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the elastic band removed from the ledger;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention shown in Figure l, the modification being shown as applied to an account book;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the modiiied envelope shown in Figure 5, removed from the ledger or account book;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7 7 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8 8 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a sectional View, similar to Figure 8 but showing the lower envelope;

Figure 10 is a side view of a protective envelope similar to Figure 6 but showing a modication thereof;

Figure ll is a sectional view taken along line 11 11 of Figure l0.

I'he ledger 1 in Figure 1 is of any conventional type, the one shown being depicted with a front 2 and a back 3 of thick rigid material. Both the front and back are connected by hinges 4 to lower and upper reenforcing strips 5 and 6 which form the hinged edge of the ledger.

An account hook of this nature will vary in thickness due to its periodic growth by the insertion of record forms 7.

The means provided for fixing the metal strips 5 and 6 in a fixed predetermined relationship involves two posts 8 and 9 rigidly secured to and protruding from the lower metal strip 6. The record forms 7 are provided with holes or apertures along their left edges, spaced in the same predetermined relationship as the posts 8 and 9, so that the sheets can be slipped over and down on the posts effecting a proper positioning of the sheets. The upper reenforcing strip 5 is also provided with spaced holes and is slipped down over the posts 8 and 9. In this position, it is rmly placed in engagement with the record forms so as to provide a compact bundle type of hinge. The upper reenforcing strip is provided with a locking means (not shown) which engages the posts 8 and 9 so that a compact unit is formed. The manipulating of this locking means is eected by the slidable button 10, this means being conventional and forming no part of the present invention. Y

To protect any furniture with which the ledger will come in contact, a continuous, flexible band 11 is provided with irregularly spaced holes 12. The band can be easily deformed into an extended position and looped in and around the hinged end of the ledger 1 so as to t snugly around and adequately cover any sharp edges or corners on the metal strips 5 and 6. The holes 12 are irregularly spaced so that the band can be used with a variety of ledgers. It should be noted that, if the projecting locking means of any selected ledger does not line up with any two holes, the band can be easily deformed so that the pair of holes most closely approximating the spaces of the posts can be tted over the posts, and any slack created by this deformation is easily accommodated on the reverse side of the ledger.

Tee band should be of an overall circumferential length equal to or slightly less than the circumference of the hinged edge of the particular account book selected so as to provide a rm, snug t when the band is properly positioned on the book.

Consideration of Figure 2 will disclose the band of a width adequate to cover the corners of the metal strips and, if desired, the band could be made to extend over and cover hinges 4. In Figure 3, the band exes up slightly and over the slidable button 10 so as to form a buffer between the button and any object it may contact.

In Figures 5 and 6, I have shown a modification of the invention shown in Figure 1. A sleeve or envelope 13 with a closed end 14 is adapted to removably t around one of the reenforcing strips or binding strips on the ledger. In Figure 8, the lower side of the envelope 13 is provided with spaced apertures or openings 15 which t over the posts, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 7. The upper surface of the envelope has a pair of raised projections 16 which overlie the posts and form a protective means therefor. The projections 16 are also spaced y3 so as to coincide with the posts and the openings 15, and they can be formed of any suitable height depending upon the height of the posts and the thickness of the ledger. With this type of protective means, two envelopes or sleeves are used, as shown in Figure 7, and the lower envelope or sleeve 17 is not required to have any projections as the posts do not protrude therefrom. It should be understood that the upper and lower envelopes could be formed identically, both having projections such as at 16, however the projections on the lower envelope would not be used; but, if the conveniences and necessities of manufacture require that all the envelopes be produced the same, this could easily be done.

In Figure 9, I have shown in section the bottom or lower envelope 17 shown in Figures 5 through 8, and instead of a projection orraised portion, such as at 16 in FigurerS, the envelope 17 in this figure is provided with a pair of openings or apertures 18 which allow for free passage of the protruding posts.

In Figures 10 and 11, I have shown a modification of the sleeve or envelope and, in this form, the envelope 19 is provided with a pair of perforations 20 and 21 on both of its sides, these perforations or openings being aligned as shown in Figure 10. A removable, resilient or rubber-like cap 22 is adapted to be inserted through the upper perforation or opening 20 so as to cover the protruding posts. In this form, both the upper and lower sleeves could be approximately identical and the caps 22 would be inserted through the upper surface of the particular envelope or sleeve which was required to accommodate the protruding posts. On the other hand, one

sleeve of the type shown in Figures 10 and 11, with thel caps 22, could be used to cover the upper binding strip while an envelope, similar to the one shown in Figure 9, could be used to enclose the lower binding strip. Y

It should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications without departing from its main underlying theme. If the ledger or account book in general use is of the type that has a locking means without protruding posts, the necessity of the spaced openings or holes would no longer be present and they could be eliminated. If the locking means is actuated by a slidable button, such as button 10 in Figure 3, then the band in Figures 1 through 4 and the envelope or sleeve in Figures through 11 would cover it as a protecting means and aid in preventing any accidental displacement thereof. With the band or the envelope in place covering the button, the chances of the binder unintentionally opening will be greatly reduced. If the button is not present and some other form of locking means is employed, the band or envelope will lie flat along the front side as it does along the back.

Numerous combinations of the above modifications could be used; for example, the Figure 10 sleeve could be used for the top with a Figure 9 sleeve for the bottom. If no protruding posts are present on the binder, the caps in Figure 10 could be removed and the perforated sleeve used without them. Both the top and bottom sleeves could be made with perforations on both sides, as shown in Figure 11, and the caps could be inserted, if needed.

Accordingly, this disclosure shows only a preferred form of the invention and various modiiications thereof,

and it should not be interpreted to limit the invention in scope except as by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a binder unit, a pair of backing members hinged to reinforcing strips, locking posts extending from one strip through the other, locking means in the said other strip for adjustably securing it a selected distance from the said one strip, a longitudinal continuous band of relatively exible material closed at one end to form an envelope and having a relatively thin generally uniform width fitted around each binding strip to provide a buiier between the binding strips and any objects they may contact, and means on the sides of each band coacting with the posts to hold the band in place, said last mentioned means including spaced perforations on at least one side of each band, and raised projections on the other side of the band fitted around the other binding strip covering the ends of the posts.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the raised projections are formed integrally on the-side of the band.

3. The structure of claim 1l in which the raised projections Vare separate caps inserted through apertures in the side of the band.

References Cited in the rile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 637,493 Abbott Nov. 21, 1899 665,805 Shanahan Ian. 8, 1901 965,374 Dawson July 26, 1910 1,711,751 Schwer May 7, 1929 2,022,557 Gaggianov Nov. 26, 1935 2,103,677 Kline et al. Dec. 28, 1937 2,243,841 Di Bella June 3, 1941 2,439,757 Sidnell Apr. 13, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,846 Great Britain 1896 

